According to The Washington Post, Bill Frist has called a comatose* woman (who has been completely brain dead* for over 15 years) to testify before Congress, all in a fanatical effort to prevent her life from being ended with dignity in accordance with both her and her husband's expressed wishes and Florida state law:

"The Senate and the House remain dedicated to saving Terri Schiavo's life," Frist said in a statement today. "While discussions over possible legislative remedies continue, the Senate and the House are taking action to keep her alive in the interim." He said the chairman of the Senate Health Committee has requested the presence of Terri Schiavo and her husband, Michael Schiavo, at a hearing on March 28 regarding "health care provided to non-ambulatory persons."

Although the Senate did not subpoena Schiavo or her caregivers, Frist's statement noted that federal criminal law protects witnesses called before congressional committee hearings "from anyone who may obstruct or impede a witness's attendance or testimony."

I think this is just about the single sickest thing that's ever been done on the floor of Congress. Are they going to wheel this woman's vegetative body into the committee chamber and start asking it questions? What is this perverse fascination with torturing Michael Shiavo? Why do they want to turn his private hell into a much worse, very public one?

What is wrong with the Republican Party[EDIT]'s leadership[/EDIT]? I don't know whether to cry or vomit.

(Thanks to Kevin Drum, who is equally horrified.)

UPDATE: *For clarity, I'm using the common understanding of these terms, not the exact medical definitions. As Majikthise says:

Court-appointed, government-appointed, and private physicians have confirmed that Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). Schiavo suffered massive brain damage as a result of a cardiac arrest 15 years ago, and ongoing neurological degeneration interim.

Patients in a PVS have no higher cognitive function and no chance of recovery.

Terri is neither comatose, nor brain dead. She is in a vegetative state because her higher brain centers have been destroyed and replaced by fluid.